About the Author

Michael Barrier is a recognized authority on film cartoons. For many years he was the publisher and editor of Funnyworld, the most widely respected magazine devoted to the animated film. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

Reviews

"Why is Marjorie Belcher the world's most durable film star? Because she was the model for Walt Disney's Snow White and for the Blue Fairy in 'Pinochio'....This is one of the many odd facts to be gleaned from Michael Barrier's account of the development of Hollywood animation. Bet you didn't know, for example, that Sneezy the dwarf was originally to have been Deafy--until someone, long before the days of political correctness, spotted the unconscious slur. Or
that Pluto was at first to have been called Rover....His book is rich in nuggets that bring the era, from roughly 1910 to the mid-1960's, vividly to life."--The Economist
"This long awaited book by Michael Barrier, a pioneer in the field of animation studies, raises the bar for serious analysis of Hollywood animation and animators during the 'Golden Age' of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Barrier's research is rich and impeccable, his arguments articulate, and his uncompromising, astringent conclusions will be a source of scholarly debate and discussion for years to come."--John Canemaker, animator and author of Before the Animation
Begins, Tex Avery: The MGM Years, Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World's Most Famous Cat, and professor and head of animation studies at New York University Tisch School of the Arts
"The highly readable result is neither weighted down with scholarly discourse nor demeaned by trivial anecdotes. Hollywood Cartoons might well become the standard survey in its area. All libraries should consider for purchase."--Neal Baker, Library Journal
"Barrier's book is a major contribution to our understanding of the work of not only the Disney animators, but also of men like Max and Dave Fleischer, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, John Hubley, and the brilliant Warner Bros. crew, especially Tex Avery, Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones....The book is likely to become a standard history of American animation up to Disney's death in 1996."--Palm Beach Florida News
"Hollywood Cartoons is the best book ever written about golden-age animation."--The Wall Street Journal
"More than 30 years ago, Michael Barrier started interviewing animation industry veterans for his Hollywood Cartoons....Unlike most of us, who write about cartoons as if they were another kind of movie, Mr. Barrier describes the development of the animated art form from the guts outward. He convincingly illuminates how line drawings evolved to the point where they could convey personalities and emotions as vividly as the greatest film or stage
actor."--The New York Sun
"A substantial history of animated cartoons, both seven-minute shorts and feature films, Hollywood Cartoons gives proper weight to a subject often considered frivolous....Michael Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons draws from the deepest reservoir of firsthand recollections gathered from producers, directors, animators, background artists, musicians, even ink-and-paint specialists from roughly 1920 to 1966....Barrier makes palpable the rigors of an
animator's task, and thereby enhances our appreciation, indeed awe, of their accomplishments."--The Plain Dealer
"A very detailed account of animated cartoons, strongly emphasizing the influence and personality of Walt Disney....This genre's history is still undercovered, so cartoon expert Barrier's book should come as a welcome addition to researchers and fans....The author takes an interesting tack in contrasting Disney's self-image with views of his associates and friends."--Kirkus Reviews
"Michael Barrier's meticulously researched yet enchantingly innocent Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age restores much of the magic to the cartoon kingdom. This definitive depiction of our most American medium will leave all but the most hardened Disnophobe shouting Yabba-Dabba-Doo!"--Jacob M. Appel, The Boston Book Review
"Barrier has given the reader a comprehensive--yet finely detailed--survey of the American animated cartoon over the decades. For the film buff, or more specifically, for the cartoon enthusiast, his book will be a welome addition to the home reference shelf."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Why is Marjorie Belcher the world's most durable film star? Because she was the model for Walt Disney's Snow White and for the Blue Fairy in 'Pinochio'....This is one of the many odd facts to be gleaned from Michael Barrier's account of the development of Hollywood animation. Bet you didn't know, for example, that Sneezy the dwarf was originally to have been Deafy--until someone, long before the days of political correctness, spotted the unconscious slur. Or that Pluto was at first to have been called Rover....His book is rich in nuggets that bring the era, from roughly 1910 to the mid-1960's, vividly to life."--The Economist "This long awaited book by Michael Barrier, a pioneer in the field of animation studies, raises the bar for serious analysis of Hollywood animation and animators during the 'Golden Age' of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Barrier's research is rich and impeccable, his arguments articulate, and his uncompromising, astringent conclusions will be a source of scholarly debate and discussion for years to come."--John Canemaker, animator and author of Before the Animation Begins, Tex Avery: The MGM Years, Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World's Most Famous Cat, and professor and head of animation studies at New York University Tisch School of the Arts "The highly readable result is neither weighted down with scholarly discourse nor demeaned by trivial anecdotes. Hollywood Cartoons might well become the standard survey in its area. All libraries should consider for purchase."--Neal Baker, Library Journal "Barrier's book is a major contribution to our understanding of the work of not only the Disney animators, but also of men like Max and Dave Fleischer, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, John Hubley, and the brilliant Warner Bros. crew, especially Tex Avery, Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones....The book is likely to become a standard history of American animation up to Disney's death in 1996."--Palm Beach Florida News "Hollywood Cartoons is the best book ever written about golden-age animation."--The Wall Street Journal "More than 30 years ago, Michael Barrier started interviewing animation industry veterans for his Hollywood Cartoons....Unlike most of us, who write about cartoons as if they were another kind of movie, Mr. Barrier describes the development of the animated art form from the guts outward. He convincingly illuminates how line drawings evolved to the point where they could convey personalities and emotions as vividly as the greatest film or stage actor."--The New York Sun "A substantial history of animated cartoons, both seven-minute shorts and feature films, Hollywood Cartoons gives proper weight to a subject often considered frivolous....Michael Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons draws from the deepest reservoir of firsthand recollections gathered from producers, directors, animators, background artists, musicians, even ink-and-paint specialists from roughly 1920 to 1966....Barrier makes palpable the rigors of an animator's task, and thereby enhances our appreciation, indeed awe, of their accomplishments."--The Plain Dealer "A very detailed account of animated cartoons, strongly emphasizing the influence and personality of Walt Disney....This genre's history is still undercovered, so cartoon expert Barrier's book should come as a welcome addition to researchers and fans....The author takes an interesting tack in contrasting Disney's self-image with views of his associates and friends."--Kirkus Reviews "Michael Barrier's meticulously researched yet enchantingly innocent Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age restores much of the magic to the cartoon kingdom. This definitive depiction of our most American medium will leave all but the most hardened Disnophobe shouting Yabba-Dabba-Doo!"--Jacob M. Appel, The Boston Book Review "Barrier has given the reader a comprehensive--yet finely detailed--survey of the American animated cartoon over the decades. For the film buff, or more specifically, for the cartoon enthusiast, his book will be a welome addition to the home reference shelf."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

The fruit of exhaustive research, from interviews with more than 200 cartoon creators to the unearthing of piles of personal papers, dusty artwork and even hectographed memos from the 1930s, this long-awaited survey of American animation has taken Barrier (during the 1960s, the editor and publisher of Funnyworld, a periodical devoted to animation) more than 25 years to write. Barrier has screened thousands of films, including hundreds of silent pictures and "almost all the short sound cartoons produced for theatrical release by the Disney, Harmon-Ising, Schlesinger, Warner Bros., MGM, UPA, and Iwerks studios," and his command of the material is astounding. He covers everything from creative character development to artistic influences, budget limitations, box office returns and technological advances such as the introduction of Xerox copiers to transfer pencil drawings directly as black lines, eliminating the inking stage. In addition to profiles of major talents, Barrier presents glimpses of Disney's earliest sketches, the insights of film critics, studio accountants and even psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, as well as countless anecdotes, such as one artist's memory of Disney's new 1939 air-conditioned Burbank studio, where "any animator could pick up his phone and call the coffee shop and have a soda delivered, or hot coffee, hot chocolate, ice creamÄanything. And a waiter would come running down the hall, with service right to your room." This cartoon cornucopia is both a delightful entertainment and a serious study, easily ranking as the definitive overview of the animation industry's accomplishments. In addition to the archival art and rare photos is a nice bonus of several flip-book sequences written into the page corners. (Apr.)